


Some Kinda Saturday

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Mutual Pining, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 21:58:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9035972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Being the defenders of the universe has its perks. You can take road trips once you return to Earth after being gone for a year, visiting beautiful seaside towns and a mansion fit for royalty. Fit for confessing to the guy you've had a crush on for about three years, more like.In which there is one unsuccessful confession and a second, very successful confession. (2 fics in 1 sort of)





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Klance Secret Santa event on Tumblr, and specifically for atrailof-whispers who was my recipient (they requested road trips and fluff). I hope they like it, and happy holidays!

Some Kinda Saturday

People revealed the most personal parts of themselves when brought to their favourite places.

Perhaps that was the key. Young hopefuls asked their beloveds where they went with their families, what they liked to do in their spare time, their favourite foods, anything that could give some inkling of where to go for a date, so that these prospective partners might reveal what they held closest to their hearts. What secrets, what parts of themselves, did they hide away in the darkest corners of their chest?

Lance made it easy. He never stopped talking about the beach and rain and water and how much he missed the beauty of earth’s oceans and on and on and on, he never, _ever_ shut up about it. When did Keith stop regarding his chatter as a nuisance and start listening to it with a far-off look on his face and a sense of fondness in his heart? When did the background talk of returning to earth’s beaches turn to Keith imagining himself and Lance walking hand in hand beside the water’s edge?

When did Lance get so handsome?

Keith couldn’t place an exact date, not a particular period of time, either. It just… _happened_ as the years went by and the five of them grew together as a team, becoming closer, regarding each other as family, in a sense. Though Keith didn’t think of Lance as family; other feelings towards him very much got in the way of that. But the animosity? That was gone. For the most part, anyway.

Good thing the defenders of the universe were afforded certain luxuries whenever they returned to earth. Everyone wanted their business so naturally they got generous discounts anywhere they went, making road trips shockingly cheap.

Did that stop Keith from driving them around in beat-up red truck with broken windows, whose air conditioning didn’t always, work while eighties music blared over the crackly radio? Absolutely not. But at least they could avoid the shady motels.

Lance slept in the slightly-less-shitty passenger’s seat beside Keith, rays of summer sunlight highlighting his face through the car window. Whenever a breeze came in through that open window and disturbed his peaceful rest, blowing his bangs into his eyes or tickling his nose, he’d whine and turn over, curling into himself against the soft blue seat cover.

For the fourth time, Keith let one hand drift away from the wheel and reach toward Lance’s hand, resting idle by his side as he slept. And for the fourth time, Keith’s hand stopped short, returning to its place on the wheel.

The first signs of civilization appeared on the horizon after hours of driving on empty country roads. No skyscrapers, yet these buildings towered, ancient monuments to a time long past. Historical beauties who survived long enough to proudly display their old architecture to the modern world.

“Lance.” Keith nudged him with his elbow.

Lance groaned and refused to turn over until Keith nudged him again, at which he yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“What? Are we here? Finally?”

“We’re coming up on the city limits. I didn’t want you to miss this.”

“Miss what?”

“Pay attention and you’ll see.”

Sunlight backlit the old city as Lance turned his head to the front window, but the moment bridge suspension cords appeared beside them his attention wasn’t on the ornate rooftops and church spires but the river they crossed over, as old as the city itself. Lance’s eyes sparkled like the water’s sunlit surface.

“Is that…?”

“A river?” Keith finished for him, barely attempting to hide the smile creeping across his face.

“But a river has to get its water from somewhere, usually the ocean feeds into it. Are we near a beach?”

“Maybe.” The smile turned to a grin, and Keith pretended he didn’t notice Lance’s cheeks puffing up into a pout.

“What are you hiding from me? Come on, tell me if there’s a beach!” Lance insisted. He continued to press the question even when Keith didn’t answer until Keith’s laughter finally silenced him.

“It was supposed to be a surprise! I wanted to let you see for yourself when we drove over there tomorrow. You’re so impatient.”

Maybe the ruined surprise was worth it to have Lance throw his arms around Keith and kiss his cheek. Both the road and Lance’s rambling went out of focus; the only thing Keith could center his mind on was the feeling of Lance’s soft lips pressed up against his cheek. The truck started to drift toward the other lane once Keith’s grip on the wheel slackened.

The sight of another car coming up the road drew him back out of his mind and he pushed Lance aside, jerking the car over into the proper direction.

“Sit down, idiot, you’re gonna make us have an accident!” A scold he immediately regretted as this wasn’t Lance’s fault at all.

“You’re the one who’s driving!” Lance shot back, settling into his seat with his arms crossed.

“You can thank me once we’re out of the car.” Keith said to soothe him.

“I’m not thanking you at all now!”

Fine, Keith deserved that. When did it become so difficult to control his emotions around Lance? At the same time he started wanting to kiss Lance, he supposed. But Lance’s oblivious mind hadn’t noticed that, hadn’t noticed Keith softening up toward him or the changes in his personality or the love-struck glimmer in his eyes whenever he so much as glanced in Lance’s direction. Stubborn Lance had a mind for the rivalry he fabricated between himself and Keith and nothing else. They were friends, certainly, but that remained a defining point of their relationship, and it seemed that was all there would ever be between them, pointless rivalry and competition, all in good fun but _still_.

Damn Lance. Damn him. And damn Keith for being unable to put his feelings into words.

In a show of truce, Lance assisted with bringing their bags up to their hotel room (the finest suite on the top floor, as the owner insisted) before he scampered off on his own, leaving Keith to unpack by himself and listen to his inner voice berate him for yelling at Lance earlier. It didn’t work any wonders for his self-confidence. Shocking.

With clothes and other essentials put away, Keith set out to find Lance in the cobblestone streets, crowded by summertime tourists and locals alike on this Saturday evening. Springtime blossoms still clung to their leafy branches, releasing their gentle pink and white petals into the air each time a breeze passed by. One landed on Keith’s nose and he sneezed.

Further down the way, green foliage disappeared in favour of a distant ocean’s salty scent, the _hush hush_ of waves stirred by docking ships, and the long-stretching river running right through the city. The shops, the restaurants, the street performers, the tourists, they all centered themselves around this eternally flowing river.

And nestled between the sights and sounds and smells, a song. A song whose grace weaved it through chatter and music right to Keith, pulling him away from the scent of freshly baked sweets that had distracted him. He followed the notes to the river’s edge and right to Lance singing away, perhaps a song intended for the river itself. Time slowed around them. Keith heard nothing other than Lance’s beautiful song. Against the backdrop of the setting sun, a sky painted pastel pink and purple and blue, Lance became an ethereal god of music and words, if only for a moment.

Keith hesitated to step up beside him for fear of disturbing him, but bravery instilled itself in him long enough to move forward. Lance either didn’t noticed or didn’t care, not turning his attention toward Keith until he finished his song.

“Feels like we’re home, doesn’t it?” Lance said.

Keith blinked himself out of his trance. “What?”

“Like we’re home. We’re not even from this city, and I don’t know about you but I’ve never been here before, but everything’s familiar to me like I’ve visited this place a thousand times. Guess that’s just how it is to be back on Earth after so long. Almost like nothing ever happened, like we haven’t been in space for three years.”

“It’s been one year since we were last on earth.” Keith corrected him.

“Oh whatever. We didn’t get to stay that long. Not long enough for me, anyway. Why did you decide to bring me with you when you came back down here?”

Keith had a thousand answers to that question. He could choose one.

“I…” He turned away from Lance’s curious gaze. “I just wanted you to be happy. You don’t love space and being a defender of the universe as much as you love being a normal person on Earth. I know that. It didn’t seem fair to come back for a while and leave you behind.”

Not the answer he wanted to give. But close enough.

Lance snorted. “I didn’t know you got so sentimental.”

“It’s not sentimentality. I’m being nice, that’s all.”

That was one way of putting it. “ _I love you and I want to make you happy for the rest of your life”_ sounded a lot less complex than all of that but of course Keith couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Though Lance said something to him without words when he took Keith’s hand in his own and held it tight.

\--

Lance flipped through pictures of their beach day over Saturday morning breakfast. The dolphins, the seagulls, the distant shrimping boat… and that one rare shot of Keith smiling. Lance wondered if Keith would notice if he set it as his phone’s home screen background. Was that flattering or creepy? Better yet, could he play it off as an accident if Keith didn’t like it? How do you _accidentally_ set an image as your background and not notice?

Whatever. It was a stupid idea anyway.

Lance leaned back in his chair with a sigh. He swore Keith looked like he wanted to say something this entire past week, but whatever it was he wouldn’t spill it, ensuring the anxiousness never left its home in Lance’s chest. Maybe he should have said _“I know you’re totally in love with me”_ as a joke at some point and see how Keith reacted. Or maybe he was just projecting false emotions onto Keith to reassure himself.

If ever there were a better place to confess, Lance had yet to find it. Being a defender of the universe had its perks. A massive mansion, built in the 19th century, and no one had lived in it for years until Team Voltron was offered rooms there on their first return trip to Earth about a year ago. They were allowed back anytime, so long as they maintained their promise not to break a decades-old vase or some other precious artifact. Lance considered himself a simple man, but he fell in love with the place over the course of his first stay here.

He pushed the remainder of his breakfast aside and left to find Keith, who must have awoken sometime before Lance. He couldn’t wait a minute for Lance to wake up so they could eat together? How ungentlemanly.

The outdoor garden burst with colour, both spring and summer flowers in full bloom. Tulips grew together in bright clusters, orange and pink and yellow, soaking up sunshine in a seemingly endless field. However, they were merely a small portion of the entire garden, which boasted many ponds and creeks alongside its vast collection of flora.

Lance navigated the tulip plots, searching among the shaded areas for Keith. A flash of pale pink caught his eye, drawing him toward the sight of a young woman underneath an ivy-covered garden trellis. No, not a woman, not even a stranger… those muscular arms and that black hair suggested someone he knew.

Keith, in a pink cotton sundress and oversized straw hat: Lance thought his heart might give out.

“Yo, Keith!”

And Keith answered, or rather, he turned at the sound of his name and waved Lance over. Yes, that was him alright; even the hat couldn’t hide the unmistakable sight of his dumb mullet. Although Lance never convinced himself he didn’t love running his fingers through Keith’s soft hair.

“Why’d you skip out on eating breakfast with me this morning?” Lance asked upon meeting Keith underneath the trellis.

“You were taking too long to get up,” Keith answered. “I wanted to go for a walk in the gardens today and it’s supposed to rain this afternoon.”

“You could have gone and woken me up, y’know.”

“Really? Me, disturb _your_ beauty rest? I don’t think so. I’d never get you out of bed if you thought it was too early.”

“I’d wake up at dawn if it was for you.”

Keith hesitated before his comeback. “Save those lines for pretty girls.”

 _I’ve been saving all my best lines for you._ Lance thought. But, for once, instead of voicing his thoughts, he offered Keith his arm and said, “Well as long as I’m out here, we might as well walk together. Shall we?”

Keith covered his mouth and snickered before he looped his arm around Lance’s. “You’re so kind, Mr. McClain.”

They must have lost themselves in that garden for hours, walking both well-worn and new paths, examining the informational signs by each plant, watching the duck family in the pond, crossing creeks by way of stepping stones (Lance would go first, then hold his hand out to help Keith across). They explored corners of that garden they never knew existed despite staying here before, catching frogs and discovering the mysterious little plants that grew here.

A drop of rain hit the tip of Lance’s nose. More followed, intent on drenching them in a matter of seconds. He grabbed hold of Keith’s hand, belatedly realizing he had no idea how to reach the house from here.

“Lance, come on, we’re getting soaked!” Keith said over the loud pour of the rain.

“We can’t go tracking mud into that fancy house!” Lance gave as his (poor) excuse. “C’mon, let’s find somewhere dry and wait ‘til the rain lightens up a bit!”

Underneath the shelter of a gazebo by the bass pond, they removed their muddy shoes and tossed them aside. Lance screwed up his face at his dampened socks, and Keith attempted to squeeze out the hem of his dress.

“You were waiting for this, weren’t you?” he said.

“What?” Lance raised an eyebrow.

“The rain. You were waiting for the rain.”

“You think I _wanted_ to get you soaking wet? I could have come out here and enjoyed the rain all on my own, I didn’t need you with me for it.”

They stared each other down, but at some point, neither of them could take it seriously and they burst out laughing.

“I act like I’m upset,” Keith said, wiping a tear from his eye. “I promise I’m not. I enjoyed walking with you.”

“Did you?” Lance gripped the edge of his bench and leaned forward slightly. “I mean, really? You had a good time?”

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I? Did you not realize I enjoy spending time with you?”

“Uh.” Lance’s throat tightened around his words. Then those words fell back, away from his mouth, into his heart, where he had hidden them for so long. He hated it. He hated his inability to speak when he most needed words. There was nothing he could say now. But there was something he could do.

His feet creaked against damp wooden boards as he crossed over to the gazebo’s railing, staring out across the bass pond. Keith’s footsteps sounded behind him, then came the warmth of someone standing beside him. Keith was always so warm. His hands and his hugs and the look in his eyes whenever he stared at Lance, like now, just like right now…

And his lips. His lips were warm, too. Lance wondered, but he thought he would never know for sure. They were warm and soft and pressed against his own, reciprocating his kiss. All the water seeping into their clothes seemed to dry up at that moment; they might have been cozied up by a fireside together.

Lance kept his face close even once he pulled away.

“It wasn’t really an answer to your question, but I meant to say ‘I love you’.” he told Keith, grinning.

And that smile he loved so dearly appeared on Keith’s face in return. “That’s more than enough of an answer. If you kiss me again I’ll say I love you, too.”

“Say it first, so I know you mean it. You mean it, don’t you?”

“Of course I mean it. I wouldn’t lie to you about that. Never.”

“Then…?”

“I love you, too.”

When words failed, there were actions. When “I love you” became a sudden confession, a kiss promised that it was the truth.


End file.
